Headless Sofia Raffaeli photo, explained: Italian rhythmic gymnast breaks internet with viral Olympics image

Rhythmic gymnasts can contort their bodies into shapes the average human brain can't comprehend, and oftentimes they're competing with props including balls, clubs, hoops and ribbons.

Luckily, with the help of fabulous sports photography, these gymnasts' intricate routines are captured in their beauty. Sometimes, the photos coming out of these performances make the tricks seem even more extreme.

Italian competitor Sofia Raffaeli fell victim to one of these snapshots at the Olympics, which caught her doing a leap with what appears to be her ball prop in the place of her head. The image went viral on social media and is bringing attention to the sport and its artistry.

Here's everything to know about the famous photo of Raffaeli and the sport she competes in.

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Headless Sofia Raffaeli photo, explained

The image of Raffaeli, taken from an upward, front-facing angle, captures the gymnast mid-leap with her pink ball in between her collarbones where her head and neck should be.

So where did they go and how did she complete this confusing move?

In a side angle of the same skill, it's clear that Raffaeli just has her head and neck tipped toward her back leg. This creates a plane on her chest that's flat enough for the ball to balance while she is in the air.

Nevertheless, the image illustrates the lengths to which these gymnasts will go to contort their bodies into beautiful and intriguing shapes.

MORE: Olympic rhythmic gymnastics schedule

What is rhythmic gymnastics?

Rhythmic gymnastics combines elements of traditional dance and artistic gymnastics in an expression through movement. The women-only discipline makes use of four different apparatus: ribbon, hoop, ball and clubs.

The Olympic competition is split into two events — the individual and group all-arounds.

In the individual event, each gymnast performs a 75 to 90-second routine four times, once for each apparatus. In the team competition, five gymnasts per country perform between two and three-minute routines twice — once in which the gymnasts all use the same apparatus and once in which they use a mixed selection.

Routines are judged based on difficulty, artistry and execution, with common penalties occurring when gymnasts drop their apparatus, cross the floor boundary or botch skills.